Textile machine



R. w. MOLEAN TEXTILE MACHINE Filed Dec. 31, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 2, 1937,

[72016173 07 zfleri M McLean Q @r i Patented Nov. 2, 1937 PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE MACHINE Robert W. McLean, Eridgewater, Mass assignor to Carver Cotton Gin Company, East Bridgewater, Mass, a corporation of 'Massahusetts Applicationlleccmber 31, 1935,:Serial No. 56,845

Claims.

This invention pertains to textile machines designed to remove useful fiber from its attachment and in particular to machines of the general class termed gins wherein toothed disks or saws 5 projecting through slots between parallel bars of a grate-fall constitute the instrumentalities for removing the fiber,--for example, for detaching cotton fiber from the seeds.

Commonly, the grate-fall comprises a series of lO independent bars secured in assembled relation by attaching them individually at their upper and lower ends to a pair of transversely extending rails. Such a construction is illustrated in the patent to McLean No. 1,999,845, dated April 15 30, 1935, wherein mention is made of some of the difficulties frequently encountered in building an acceptable grate-fall, and wherein an improved construction is disclosed such that some of these prior diificulties are overcome. In the copending application for Letters Patent filed May 10, 1935, Serial No. 20,952, by Robert W. McLean, there is described a further improvement designed primarily to prevent tagging, that is to say, the formation of loosely coherent masses of fiber or dirt in the space behind the grate-fall and just above the ginning point. With that object, among others in view, said application describes various improved grate-fall constructions, one of them having the slots cut in a continuous piece of sheet metal. Such an integral grate-fall construction has certain advantages, among them accurate parallelism of the slots, as compared with constructions in which independent bars are individually attached by means of screws or the like to top and bottom rails. However, as a practical matter, it has been found almost impossible to harden the bars (that is to say, the metal intervening between the slots) of such integral gratefall at points adjacent to the ginning point so that they will efiectually resist wear, without distorting the sheet material and thus throwing the slots out of parallel. While suchintegral grate falls, having their bars unhardened, have been used, and while such grate-falls may make a certain appeal to the user by reason of their cheapne-ss, they wear so rapidly that the accuracy and efficiency of the gin is soon impaired.

Among the objects of the presentinvention are to provide a grate-fall of the tagless type (such that tags or streamers do not readily form in the space above the ginning point); to provide a grate-fall which, throughout its life, maintains its slots in substantially the same accurately parallel relation that they have in the integral 55 type of grate-fall when first made; to provide a grate-fall whose bars may readily be hardened adjacent to the ginning point without distortion of the grate-fall as a whole; to provide a gratefall having bars of sufiicient depth to assure adequate rigidity and accuracy of the ginning. operation as well "asstrength to resist the blows to which the grate-tall" is often subjected either by saws which areout of true, or by the inclusion of stones or other hard bodies in the seed cotton; and to provide a grate fallconstructionhaving all of the above advantages but which may be made at a reasonable cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made manifest in the following more detailed description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l isza vertical section showing an upper front portion of a gin, including the feed hopper, the'roll box and saw cylinder, and also the improvedgrate-fall embodying the present invention; 7

Fig. la is .asection onsubstantially the same plane as Fig. l, but. to larger scale, showing details of the upper partof the grate-fall;

Fig. 2' is a fragmentary .frontlelevation of the grate-fall, looking substantially in the direction of the arrow A (Fig. 1), certain parts being omitted or indicated in broken lines, and others broken away, :and. illustrative of appliances usefulin mounting the grate-fall in the gin;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the upper part of the grate-falland associated parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the gratefall, but illustrating a modifiedconstruction;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section, substantially onthe line 5-5 of Fig. 4,the central part of the grate bar being broken out;

Fig. 6 is a view similartoFig. 5, but illustrating modified means for permanently securing the upper end of the grate bar to the top rail;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but. illustrating another mode .of uniting the grate bars to the top and bottom rails;

Figs. Sand 9 are views similar to Fig. 5, showing other modified constructions;

, Fig, 10 is a section similar to that of Fig. 5, but showingthe upper portion only of the grate-fall, illustrating another. modification;

Figs. 11, 12 and 13- are views similar to Fig. 10, but showing additional modifications; and

Fig. 14 is a transverse section, to larger scale, through one of the grate bars in a plane adjacent to the ginning point.

- Referring to thedrawings, the numeral I designates the feed hopper of a linter gin, such hopper having therein the ribbed feed. roll 2 cooperating with the sliding gate 3 to deliver the seed at a proper rate to the rollbox of the gin. The breast structure of the gin comprises the breast board 4 which constitutes the forward wall of the roll box5. This breastboard carries the adjustable rake head 6 l provided with the spaced teeth 1. The upperportion of the rear wall of the roll box is defined ,by the forwardly concave linerplate 8 which may be of metal and which is fixedly secured at its opposite ends to the end members of the breast structure. Within the roll box 5 is arranged the float roll 9 which slowly turns the roll of seed cotton in the roll box so as to present it for engagement by the teeth of the saw cylinder.

The saw shaft l0 carries the saw cylinder ll consisting of a series of spaced peripherally toothed saw disks which reach up through the slots in the grate-fall and tear the lint from the seeds and carry it down between the bars of the grate-fall. The doifer brush l2, having bristles I3, is arranged beneath the grate-fall in the usual manner to remove the lint from the saw teeth.

As here illustrated, the gin structure comprises the upper and lower elongate supporting strips or girders l5 and it, here shown as of wood, and extending transversely across the entire width of the gin structure. Preferably the lower rear corner of the upper strip or support 1 5 is rounded off or beveled, as indicated at B, so as to provide a clear space behind and above the ginning point, thereby contributing to the prevention of the formation of tags or streamers behind the upper part of the grate-fall.

- As here illustrated, the grate-fall comprises a series of parallel spaced grate bars it independently formed, preferably from sheet or bar steel of suitable thickness and physical characteristics, the under edges of these bars preferably being beveled ofi, as indicated at Ma (Figs. 1 and 14) to provide clearance for the saw teeth as the latter pass between adjacent bars. Adjacent to the ginning point G the bars are locally hardened,

such hardened portions being indicated by stippling in the drawings. This local hardening may be accomplishedby any suitable method of heat treatment, and after such hardening, the bars may, if desired or necessary, be individually straightened and their edges and upper faces, if desired, may be ground and polished or otherwise finished to provide smooth and accurate surfaces. While ordinarily the bars will be of a material, for example carbon steel, which by proper heat treatment may be hardened locally at the ginning point, it is contemplated that the bars might be of material not readily hardened by such methods, but which be surface hardened, at least, at the ginning point, for example by nitriding, chromium plating, case hardening, or the like, it being noted that by making the bars as individual elements, such modes of hardening are applicable whereas, were the bars to be made by slotting a single sheet of material, such local hardening would not be practical.

Asillustrated in Fig. 1, the bars 54 are united at their upper and lower ends respectively to rail members I! and I8 respectively, such rail members being of metal and being disposed parallel to each other. As shown in Figs. 1 and la, the upper ends of the bars M are abutted against the upper rail ll, with the upper forward corner IQ of the bar substantially in contact with the rail ll, thus leaving a wedge-like space between the lower edge of the rail ll and the upper end surface of the bar. This wedge-shaped space is then filled withwelding metal 20 which permanently and securely unites the bar to the rail. This weld may be made by any of the wellknown methods, such as arc-welding, acetylenewelding, or the like, and it is even contemplated that, if the materials of the bars 14 and the rail I l are suitable, the joint may be made by brazing. Whatever method be employed, the ultimate result, as above stated, is to form a permanent union between the bar and the rail so that when once thus joined, there can beno possibility of displacement of one bar with respect to adjacent bars.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the lower end of the bar I i is preferably beveled, as indicated at 2|, and placed in juxtaposition to the upper edge surface of the lower rail Hi. In the wedge-like recess between the surface 21 and the edge of the rail, Welding metal 22 is introduced, the weld being made in accordance with any of the methods above described so as permanently to unite the lower end of the bar to the rail. It will be understood that in thus welding the several bars to the top and bottom rails, any suitable appliances may be used for holding the bars in accurately spaced parallel relation while they are being welded;

For securing the grate-fall in place in the gin, it is preferred to provide the top and bottom rails l l and I8, respectively, with a series of holes 23 and 24, respectively (Fig. 2), for the reception of screws 25 or equivalent fastening means designed to enter the usual supporting strips l5 and Hi, respectively and thus hold the grate-fall in operative position. The strips l5 and I6 are sometimes of wood and sometimes of metal, and appropriate fastening means will be used in accordance with the character of the strip, the strips being herein illustrated, for convenience, as of Wood and the fasteners shown are wood screws.

Preferably, in view of the fact that gins of substantial width are now commonly employed, and that the grate-fall is thus of considerable length and difficult to ship as a single unit, it is preferred, in accordance with the present invention to divide the grate-fall into several sections. For this purpose the rails l l and i 8 each consists (Fig. 2) of a plurality of substantially like sections. Each corresponding pair of rail members carries a series of the grate bars It, the latter, as above noted, being permanently and fixedly united to the rail section so as to form a unitary and permanent structure in which the widths of the slots may be accurately fixed by the manufacturer. By thus making the grate-fall in several sections, difiiculties in manufacture are avoided, and the replacement or repair of a broken or bent bar is facilitated.

In order to ensure the proper mounting of the sections of the grate-fall upon the supporting strips 55 and E6 of the gin, it is preferred to furnish a pair of stiff aligning bars to accompany each grate-fall when the latter is shipped to the user. Such a pair of aligning bars is indicated at 28 and 29 (Figs. 2 and 3), each bar being provided with a series of properly spaced holes 38 large enough to permit the free passage of the heads of the screws 25 by means of which the rails I? and i8 are mounted in the gin. The aligning members 28 and 29 are also furnished at intervals with unthreaded holes for the passage of bolts 32, while the rails ll and ii! are furnished with threaded openings to receive the threaded portions of these bolts. The holes in the aligning bars 28 and 29 and the corresponding holes in the several sections of rails i1 and F8 are drilled by the manufacturer in such a way as to be in ac curate alignment when the several sections of the grate-fall are in proper operative relation.

When the user of the grate-fall is ready to mount the grate-fall in the gin, he assembles the sections in substantial alignment and then agony-gore lays the aligner bars'28 and 29 upon the-top and bottom rail. members of the several sections, se-

curing them in place by means of the bolts 32.-

When the partsare thusunited by meansof the 2 aligner bars, the user isassuredthatthe several them' into the top and bottom stripsfiiSand iii of the gin structure. Whenall of the attaching screws have thus been .insertedgxthe bolts 32 are taken out and the aligner members 28 and 29 the grate-fall properly removed, thus leaving mounted in the gin.

The several bars M of the grate-fall preferably are provided with notches in' their upper surfaces closely adjacent to the ginning point G, and after the several sectionsof the grate-fall have.

been securedto the upper and lower rails, a guard or wear plate 26 (Fig. la) is arranged to overlap the upper rail l? and to cover the junction of such rail with the upper ends of the bars. This guard plate has itselower edge 2? (Fig. 1a) seatedin the aforesaid notches in theupper faces of the several bars, its lower edge extending continuously across the bars and across the slots between the bars and. in effect defining theupper ends of the slots. This edge 2i is very closely adjacent to the ginning point G (Fig. .1) for example, it may be spaced from such point adistance of the order of one-eighth inch sothat the teeth of the saws of the saw-cylinder pass so close to such edge that they continuously sweep out the end of the slot and thus prevent the accumulation of lint and the formation of tags or streamers just above the ginning point. The guard or wear plate 26 is furnished with openingsfor the passage of screws 25a. (Fig. 1a) which attach the plate to the top rail ll. The upper edge of the guard plate 26 substantially abuts the lower edge of the rear wall 8 of the roll box and. in effect forms the lower part of such wall.

While the method of permanently uniting the grate bars to the top and'bottom rails, as above described, is desirable, I contemplate the employment of other and equivalent constructions, some of which have herein been illustrated by way of further example. Thus in Figs. 4 and. 5, the upper rail comprises a metal plate l5a which projects forwardly beyond the front face of the wood strip i 5 and its forward edge has a series of regularly spaced notches 33 (Fig. 4), each of a width to receive the upper end of one of the bars l4 with a snug fit, and spaced from the next notch a distance equal to the desired width of the slot between, the bars of the grate-fall. In this construction the lower rail member 18:1: (Fig. 4) is furnished with a similar series of. notches 34 inits upper edge, the notches 33 of the member.

550 being in alingment with the notches 34-.-

As illustrated in Fig. 5, a member l'lais secured: to the front face of the strip !5 with its lower edge in contact withthe forwardly projecting: notched Dart of the member Mia. The grate bars M are beveled at their upper ends above ginning point .G and these beveled ends are fitted into the notches 33 and are permanently secured to the members i501. and Ho by a body 35 of welding metal. This metal may extend continuously acrossthewidthof the section of the grate-fall or may be in the form permanently unites the bar to the top rail structure; As illustrated, a. guard plate 26. is arranged to fit against thefront face of-the rail member Na and to have its lower edge seated against a shoulder at the lower endof-l-the bevelof the grate bar. As shown in Fig. 5, the lower end of each grate bar Ma is seated in oneof the notches 34, the bar beingofgreatendepth than; the thickness of the rail. 18m, and a body of welding metal unites the upper part of the lower. end of each bar to the upper face ofthe rail;

the strip i5 by screws and has a forwardly directed horizontal flange 3'! provided with notches in its forward edge forthe reception of the upper ends of the grateabars l4. Awedge or'spacer block 38" is attached to the front face of the rail.

Hb with its lower edge spaced from the flange 31. The upper ends of the bars I 4 are disposed, one in each of the notches in the flange 31, and then a body of welding metal 39 is flowed into the space between the flange 31 and the lower edge of the block 38, thus permanently and firmly uniting the several bars to the rail member- Hb. A guard plate 26, similar to that above described, is mounted to rest against the front face of the block .38 .and against the front edge of the flange 31," with its lower edge against shoulders near the upper ends of the. bars l4 adjacent to the ginning point. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the lower ends of the bars M are secured to the lower rail I82: in the same way as illustrated in Fig. 5.

As shown in Fig. 7, the top rail includes the member 10 to which is secured a part Ail whose lower margin is deflected downwardly and for-. wardly, as shown at M. The upper endsof the bars M are rabbeted to provide recesses of a.

depth substantially equaling the thickness of the part 4i, and the lower edge of the member 4| is seated in these recesses and the parts are joined together by spot welding, as indicated at 43. In this instance the memberdfl not onlypermanently unites the several bars 14; butalso forms the guard plate, its lower edge closing the slotsbetween the bars and defining the upper ends of the slots. At their lower ends 44 the bars M are rabbeted at their under sides and fit over the upper margin of the lower rail member 8112 to which they are secured by spot welding at 45.

As shown in Fig. 8, the strip. l5 supports a top rail member lle whose forward surface 5!- is beveled and constitutes the effective lower portion of the roll box wall 8.

the surface 5! at an acute angle, and in this angle a series of notches is formed for the recaption of the upper ends of the several grate bars M. Preferably the inner ends of these notches.

upper surfaces of these bodies of welding mate rial are substantially flush with the surface 5|. In this instance the metal of the rail lle which separates the notches forms the terminus for the slot between adjacent bars, the acute edge formed by the intersection of the surface 5! and the lower edge of the bar being very close to the ginning point .G. The lower ends of the bars M, as. illustrated in Fig. 8, areunitedto the bottom- The lower edge of the rail We is inclined so as to intersect rail I850 by welding metal 36 in substantially the same way as illustrated in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 9 the top rail member l'ld has the forwardly inclined flange portion 45 which forms a support for the upper ends of the bars M. The bar is spot welded to the flange 46 at the point 41 so as permanently to unite it to the rail memher. The upper ends of the bars M are reduced in thickness so as to provide a shoulder adjacent to the ginning point G and against this shoulder rests the lower edge of a guard plate 26a, preferably having a forward concave curvature providing a smooth continuation of the curved wall member l8 of the roll box. At its lower end the bar M is cut away at its upper side so as to provide a tongue 48 which is received in an undercut notch 49 in the lower rail member [801 and a spot weld at 59 unites the parts 38 and l8d.

In Fig. 10 the top rail member H) is shown as having a concavely curved forward surface 3 and a beveled lower edge provided with a shoulder. The upper end of the bar M is arranged to underlie this mveled lower edge of the rail I1 and welding material 55, interposed between the upper extremity of the bar and the shoulder, permanently secures the bar in place, it being noted that the curved surface 54 of the rail II forms a smooth continuation of the roll box wall 8 and merges smoothly with the upper edges of the bars l4 adjacent to the ginning point.

In Fig. 11 the top rail member Hg is shown as provided with a beveled lower edge to which the upper end of the bar i4 is secured by welding metal 20 in substantially the same way as illustrated in Fig. 10,. However, in this instance the guard plate 55 is of forwardly concave curvature, forming a smooth continuation of the wall member 8.

Fig. 12 illustrates an arrangement wherein the horizontal top rail l'lm has spaced integral projections 56 at proper intervals which enter holes in the upper ends of the respective bars M, the forward ends of the members 56 being riveted over in the forward parts 51 of these holes so as permanently to unite the bars to the member I'lm.

In Fig. 13 a further modification is shown wherein the wood strip 55 carries the forwardly concave combined guard plate and top rail 26s, beneath whose lower edge the upper ends of the bars M are disposed and to which the bars are permanently united by rivets 58.

While various embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by way of example, it is to be understood that the constructions shown are to be regarded merely as instances of practical embodiments of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, and that all other equivalent constructions falling within the scope of the appended claims are to be regarded as within the purview of the invention.

I claim:

1. A grate-fall comprising a unitary structure including parallel top and bottom rail members, the top rail member having a series of regularly spaced recesses at its lower portion and the bottom rail member having a similar series of recesses adjacent to its upper edge, a series of parallel, spaced bars, the upper and lower ends of each bar fitting within aligned'recesses in the top and bottom rail members, respectively, and a body of metal permanently uniting the ends of each bar to the top and bottom rail members, respectively, the recesses in the top rail member being deeper than the bars and the body of metal which unites each bar to the top rail filling the recess above the bar flush with the forward face of the top rail member.

a 2. A grate-fall comprising a unitary structure including parallel top and bottom rail members, the lower edge surface and the forward face of the top rail member being acutely convergent and intersecting in a line closely adjacent to the ginning point, said rail member having a series of regularly spaced notches extending inwardly from said line of intersection of its lower edge surface and top face, 'a series of parallel, spaced bars, the upper end of each bar being disposed in one of the notches of the top rail member, the upper edge of said bar entering its notch substantially at the line of intersection of the front and bottom surfaces of the top rail member, welding material filling each such notch above the bar and permanently uniting the bar to the top rail member, the upper surface of said welding metal being flush with the top surface of the top rail member, and means uniting each bar to the lower rail member.

3. A grate-fall comprising a unitary structure including parallel top and bottom rails, the top rail comprising a sheet metal plate having an outstanding flange provided with a series of regularly spaced notches, a filler block secured to the plate but spaced from said flange, a series of parallel grate bars each having a recess in its upper edge closely adjacent to the ginning point, the upper end of each bar being disposed in one of the notches in the flange of the plate, welding metal disposed in the space between the flange and the filler block and permanently uniting the several bars to the plate, a guard plate resting upon the filler block and upon the edge of the flange and having its lower edge seated in the recesses in the several bars, and means permanently uniting the lower ends of the bars to the bottom rail.

4. A grate-fall for gins comprising a plurality of sections, each section comprising parallel top and bottom rail members and a plurality of independent grate bars each permanently welded at its upper and lower ends, respectively, to the top and bottom rail members of its particular section, alignment bars disposed to extend from end to end of the grate-fall in contact with the upper and lower rail members of the several sections, respectively, said aligning bars and rail members, respectively, having openings which register when the several sections are in properly aligned operative relation, and removable fastener means passing through said openings and temporarily clamping the sections to the aligning bars.

5. A grate-fall comprising a unitary structure including parallel top and bottom rail members, a plurality of spaced, parallel independent bars, the upper and lower ends of each bar abutting the top and bottom rail members, respectively, each bar being locally hardened adjacent to the ginning point and having a recess in its upper face adjacent to the ginning point, welding metal permanently and rigidly uniting each bar at its upper and lower ends, respectively, to the respec tive rail members, and a guard plate overlapping the junction of the bars with the upper rail and having its lower edge seated in the recesses of the several bars, said lower edge of the guard plate extending uninterruptedly from one bar to the next closely adjacent to the ginning point.

ROBERT W. MCLEAN. 

